Why Jasprit Bumrah's involvement in the England series wasn't kept a secret has been questioned by former Aakash Chopra. At the pre-series press conference, India coach Gautam Gambhir stated that the pacer leader will only play three Test matches, raising serious concerns about Bumrah's ability to manage his workload.

In an interview with reporters following the defeat at Headingley, Gambhir restated this and stated that their strategy with Bumrah will not change. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned if this needed to be made public and proposed that India should have forced England to play the guessing game.

"Bumrah said he will play three matches only, and I am thinking whether it was required to publicize it. Why was it not kept a secret? We don't announce our team as well. So, why was it necessary to reiterate this repeatedly before the start of the tour that he would play only three matches? Let them guess. You play whichever Tests you wish," said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

Chopra believes that Bumrah will only play in one of the final three games if he plays in the second Test at Edgbaston. England will be able to adjust their pitch preparation for the remainder of the series as a result.

"You have played one, and you know you can play only two of the remaining four matches, which is not a good thing. If you play the second as well, you will play one of three. So, suddenly, the opposition gets into a great frame of mind that Bumrah, your biggest strength, is also not there. You can prepare pitches accordingly," said Chopra.

Given that Bumrah's availability is uncertain, Mohammad Shami is nearing the end of his career, and Mohammed Siraj isn't performing up to standard, Chopra believes that a new generation of Indian fast bowlers will need to be ready.

"The next generation of Indian fast bowlers will have to be prepared. It's a serious issue. There were two important pillars of India's good performance away from home. One was batters starting to score runs, but it doesn't work out with that, as you need to pick up 20 wickets. So Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj were outstanding with Jasprit Bumrah.

I also remember Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Lord's Test. When there are doubts about Bumrah's availability, who will take the responsibility going forward, because Mohammad Shami, I think that story is not over, but it is close to an ending. Mohammed Siraj is good, but he hasn't reached the rank of Bumrah or Shami,” Chopra signed off.

The second Test match between England and India will be played at Edgbaston from July 2 onwards, and it remains to be seen whether Jasprit Bumrah will play or not.